Out of the Past: Moreno Valley’s Kaliesha West

By David A. Avila

Kaliesha West arrived from the Southern California amateur ranks during the early 2000’s with flashy combinations and speed to become a two-division world champion as a professional.

Wild, Wild West was her nickname.

But unlike her moniker, the African American-Mexican fighter was a thoughtful, accommodating teen when she arrived in the boxing world. And she was willing to travel the world to showcase female boxing.

She was also part of a growing class of female fighters reared in the amateurs.

West was born into boxing. Her father Juan West fought as a professional in the Southern California area including two fights at the legendary Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles.

Watching her father perform in the prize ring and then later become a boxing trainer proved to be an undeniable influence on Kaliesha West as a youngster.

“I discovered boxing because my dad was a boxing coach. He boxed too and he was the coach of a little gym in Moreno Valley that was popular back in the day,” said Kaliesha West. “I wanted to be a part of the crew. It looked like fun every time they came back and talked about their stories. Their fight stories. I was infatuated with the lifestyle.”

West convinced her father to train her too for competitive boxing in the city of Moreno Valley. At the time, it was not the hot bed for boxing that it has become today. Back then it was a city known for March Air Force Base and nothing else.

“The adrenaline rush, the environment and the pain; I loved how I felt as if I was truly challenging myself right after a fight,” said West of her first days training to be a boxer.

Soon, the 11-year-old West was driven 60 miles west to East L.A. where she was set to participate in her first amateur boxing match. If you want to be a fighter East L.A. is the center of the fire for boxing in Southern California. It’s boxing central.

“My very first amateur fight it was like one of those finally moments I had heard from everybody else about their stories and I was finally having mine. I was super anxious and I felt like the eight counts were BS. I got two of them but I felt like it was stupid. The girl was way bigger than me,” said West of her first boxing match. “She was 20 pounds bigger. And every time she hit me, I was a frail skinny girl, every time she hit me I was falling over. Not from it being painful and I wasn’t even hurt. But I thought you only got an eight count if you were hurt. My first fight was in East L.A. I had zero fans.”

West learned quickly the dos and don’ts of amateur boxing. With her father teaching her the necessary skills, and her own natural athleticism the 11-year-old quickly developed a reputation as one of the best female boxers in Southern California. Boxing fans began to take notice of the mixed-girl from Moreno Valley.

“My favorite fights as an amateur would be the Golden Gloves because it was a huge tournament and I moved up in weight class. It was in Chicago, Illinois. I was 16. That was 2004,” said West now 32. “I was fighting on a Wednesday versus Emily Klinefelter. And they gave her the option of fighting me and they declined. And I was so pissed off and I had so much to prove and they gave me the option to fight if I minded moving up a weight class. I was already a brand new 118 but I moved up to 122 or 125. I had to eat McDonalds food in the morning and I barely weighed 119.6 I fought this big old girl and I remember I was so anxious to prove myself that I was doing things I never did in a fight like uppercuts. This was back when I was afraid to throw uppercuts because I was still learning everything. I threw a ton of uppercuts and her head flew all the way back. It was just so easy and clean that I didn’t go away from it. And I threw uppercuts the whole fight. She couldn’t see it. So I won that fight unanimously and I became the Golden Gloves champion.”

Though she was victorious in other parts of the country, West had to fight her way out of the Southern California region which has always been super tough especially in the lower weight classes. One small city Bell Gardens, a suburban city near Los Angeles, was filled with female boxing talent.

“My other most memorable amateur fights were against Bell Gardens. They had tons of girls. I had fought and beat all of them. And on the third one, I had already beat all the sisters Esmeralda and Sara. And then they stuck “La Cobra” Ruiz on me. They sicked her on me. The reason I never forget this fight is that it was like all of our fights – toe to toe war. And I won,” said West about her murderer’s row confrontation against the Bell Gardens girls including Adelaida Ruiz one of America’s top super flyweights today. “And after I won I went to the bathroom just to change and I could hear her just crying in the bathroom and I was just old shoot. I was only like 13 or 12. As a little girl I just felt bad. That sucks. She was just crying so hard. And I remember that fight. I remember every one of those fights. I’m pretty sure it was her first loss. She beat me the next time that we fought. She always took the fights with me to the heart. I would say all of the fights with her, those are super memorable.”

West would be invited to U.S. Nationals competition in Florida and it was in those prestigious tournaments that she met a number of future stars.

“In Florida I fought one girl and I made her throw up. They stopped the fight because I hit her in the stomach and she threw up in the ring. And then, the next day, I want to say I got third place or a bronze medal because I fought another girl. It was the women’s nationals and it was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,” remembers West. “Fort Lauderdale, Florida is where I met Ada “the Ace” Velez and Belinda Laracuente for the first time and I got their autographs.”

She also met several male world champions while participating in national competitions.

“I was at the Olympic training center and I remember Danny Jacobs. I don’t really fan on fighters. I just worry about my own craft but I remember when I saw him fight. against a guy and they were just amazing. I remember thinking I want to fight just like that,” said West. “That’s when I first saw Franchon Crews. She was trying to make American Idol and she was just starting in boxing. I had already been fighting for eight years and I got a walkover. So I got to see Danny Jacobs and Russell Wilson fight.”

It was also during this time she met another future world champion Victor Ortiz.

“I remember Victor Ortiz in some ugly gray sweats with holes in them standing outside a gym with me and my dad. He just wouldn’t say a word next to his coach. Big old goofy smile on him. He was so shy back then,” West said about Ortiz who now acts in movies.

One of West’s primary goals as an amateur was to participate in the Olympics. But women were still not included nor supported.

“I was so furious with the amateur situation that the women were not going to be in the Olympics. I think it was 2004 or 2008 Olympics. One of those. To be honest, if I had wasted any more time in the amateurs it would have been a waste of time. Because it is very political in the amateurs and I was not a favorite when I was in the amateurs,” said West.

Personal problems and lack of opportunities in the amateur boxing world prompted West to become a professional. By this time, she had gathered fans and popularity as a female boxer.

Next week: Pt. 2 Pro debut, traveling abroad and world titles.